LN2 Cooled Drinks

[Lisa Shock]

I'm doing a demo with liquid nitrogen tonight, and have been asked at the last minute to make some basic cocktails to be served frozen. I could really use everyone's help here to make it a success!

I have read The Liquid Nitrogen Primer in Cooking Issues. I have 16 years of experience handling liquid nitrogen. I have safety equipment and a PhD level chemist who works in a cryogenic lab as an assistant. I just need a few tips on drink making with it, which I have never done.

I have been specifically asked to make frozen drinks. I won't have a full bar, just the alcohol I bring, so it will be a very limited menu. I am thinking of a doing Manhattans, Brambles, and gin & tonics. My question is, are drinks (as illustrated in the Primer) just frozen in the glass? Or, are they frozen in a bowl, then scooped into the glass?

I need a basic procedural. Would it be: make pitcher of Manhattans, pour LN2 into bowl, stir, scoop into glasses? Or: make pitcher of Manhattans, pour LN2 into glass, pour Manhattan into glass, stir?

And, has anyone here frozen a carbonated beverage with LN2? I've been working on variations of a frozen G&T for years, but not with LN2. At my house, when I make shave-ice and pour tonic over it, the tonic foams up rapidly and voluminously. (less so if the ice being shaven is itself made from tonic water) How much can I expect in terms of expansion with LN2 - should I make one drink in a 5 quart bowl? And, if so, what's the best type of bowl to use?

[mkayahara]

My understanding was that they used LN2 at Cooking Issues to chill glassware, not to chill the cocktails themselves, though I may be misremembering. If you wanted to make liquid nitrogen-frozen slushy-style Daiquiris or Margaritas, it would probably work, just the same as making ice cream with liquid nitrogen. I mean, obviously you could make slushy Martinis or Manhattans with liquid nitrogen, but that might be a liability risk.

[Lisa Shock]

I'll have photos up in a couple of days. I was only able to do gin and tonics, the crowd didn't want to wait for a series of frozen drinks.

I tried working in a red plastic cup, but, the fog was too dense, and we couldn't really tell what was happening. I did LN2, then gin, then tonic. The finished drink had just a little ice floating on top.

So, I moved to the mixer. First, I made frozen gin. As this happened, everyone noted a very strong odor of gin and we believe that the nitrogen carried some alcohol off with it as people started to feel a little light-headed a couple of minutes later. (yes, we had good ventilation) It coated the sides of the mixer pretty solidly, looked like snow slush and had a sorbet like texture -judging by stirring it around, it was too cold to taste safely. Spoonfuls of it floated on top of tonic water in attractive manner, but that drink was unsatisfying because at first it was all tonic and became too strong as it was drunk.

As the gin melted, there was an interesting phase when it was white and looked and acted a lot like royal icing.

I cleaned the mixer, then poured measured amounts of gin and tonic into the bowl and mixed with LN2 until a sorbet-like texture was achieved. The fog as it mixed had a slightly different appearance, which we suspect had to do with the carbon dioxide from the carbonated tonic being released along with the nitrogen gas. The final product read -35.4° F, was white in color and easy to scoop, a bit like when sorbet first comes out of an ice cream machine. There was no trace of carbonation. The texture was amazingly smooth. There was definitely less flavor due to the cold, but the texture was very velvety and people were able to eat it like ice cream.

Overall, the final product was successful and people really liked the texture. I'll be able to do this again in a month, I think I will try a frozen version of punch.

(edited for spelling)

Edited September 17, 2011 by Lisa Shock (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Too late, and maybe not the sort of cocktail you are thinking of, but I've had the liquid nitrogen caipirinha on the cocktail menu at The Bazaar in Beverly Hills (Description of the technique here). In the video on that site, he pours a single mix into the bowl before adding the LN2, but I recall separate bottles of cachaça, lime juice and simple but I doubt that makes a difference.

Sounds sort of like the cachaça sorbet I've read about from elBulli rather than a liquid cocktail. Tasty, though !

[Lisa Shock]

Thanks for the link, it looks useful for the future. -It's a lot easier to carry around a bowl and whisk than my mixer!

Yes, what I got was essentially a gin & tonic sorbet, we ate it with spoons. To drink, you had to wait a while. But, as a frozen confection, it was really lovely texture-wise.